Dozens Of LI Students Named Regeneron Semi-Finalists

Alex Costello
·6 min read

LONG ISLAND, NY — The top 300 semi-finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search were announced today, and dozens of Long Island students made the cut.

The semi-finalists, known as scholars, were chosen from 1,760 applicants representing more than 600 high schools from across the United States, and from 10 other countries. For being named scholars, each student and their school will be awarded $2,000.

On Jan. 21, 40 of the 300 scholars will be named Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists. From there, 40 finalists will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards from March 10 through 17. The competition is co-sponsored by the Society for Science.

"An exceptional group of student leaders and innovators comprise this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars, with an array of projects that demonstrate the power of science," said Hala Mirza, senior vice president of corporate communications and citizenship at Regeneron, in a release. "We are honored to celebrate the next generation of young scientists and inventors who can elevate the STEM community and our broader society through their high-quality research and novel discoveries. These are the inspiring problem solvers who will help address the current and future challenges facing our world."

The 40 scholars from Long Island are:

  • Callie Burns, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore

    • Project Title: Student Discipline in Nassau County High Schools: Comparing Distinct Layers of Law Enforcement and Disparity in Student Punishment

  • Danielle Kacaj, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore

    • Project Title: Retinal Ganglion Cell Dysfunction is Associated with Macular Microvascular Abnormalities in Pre-Perimetric Glaucoma

  • Julia Levine, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore

    • Project Title: Reduced Fasciclin 2 Expression in Drosophila melanogaster Leads to Impaired Locomotor Function and Abnormal Stress Response Following Dietary Alterations of Carbohydrates in a Celiac Disease Model

  • Jordyn Krinsky, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore

    • Project Title: The Combinatorial Effects of Diet and Caffeine Mitigate Parkinson’s Disease in a Drosophila melanogaster System

  • Tara Fusillo, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore

    • Project Title: Predicting Health Disparities in Regions at Risk of Severe Illness to Inform Healthcare Resource Allocations during Pandemics: Observational Study

  • Zen Ho Sang, Central Islip Senior High School, Central Islip

    • Project Title: Covariant Study of the Coronavirus Spike Protein

  • Julia Savino, Smithtown High School West, Smithtown

    • Project Title: Using the Sea Anemone, Nematostella vectensis, to Probe the Mechanism of Excitotoxicity

  • Animesh Ghose, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket

    • Project Title: Prognosis and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease Using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks

  • Lucia Martin, North Shore High School, Glen Head

    • Project Title: The Effect of Political Division on Compliance with COVID-19 Health Guidelines

  • Kate Weseley-Jones, North Shore High School, Glen Head

    • Project Title: Parenthood: Penalty or Premium? The Effect of Parental Status and Gender on Perceptions of Physicians

  • Catherine Liu, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho

    • Project Title: Individual and Combined Treatments of Berberine and Estrogen Mitigate the Cytotoxic and Inflammatory Effects of DSS and LPS Induced Colitis

  • Vyom Shah, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho

    • Project Title: Linking Diet and Cancer: Arachidonic Acid Augments Stemness via Canonical Wnt and Hippo Signaling

  • Danny Li, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho

    • Project Title: Astragalin and Antirrhinin: Novel Plant-Derived Ligands to Attenuate the Multifactorial Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s

  • Justin Shen, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho

    • Project Title: L-Theanine: Neuroprotective Against Trichloroethylene-Induced Parkinson’s Disease Hallmarks

  • Mir Zayid Alam, Manhasset High School, Manhasset

    • Project Title: Identification of Genetic Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using an Automated Microarray-Based Pipeline and Pathway Enrichment

  • Emily Ma, Manhasset High School, Manhasset

    • Project Title: Optimizing the Efficiency of Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

  • Julius Yoh, Manhasset High School, Manhasset

    • Project Title: The Optimization of Desalination and Ion-Removal Rate Through the Engineering of Novel Turbulent Modular Designs in an Electrodialysis System

  • Emma Wang, Manhasset High School, Manhasset

    • Project Title: Investigating Potential Agro-Economic Benefits of Solar Pollinator Habitats

  • Rhea Rasquinha, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park

    • Project Title: Identifying the Prognostic, Tumor-Suppressive and Immunologic Roles of IRF5 in Breast Cancer

  • Anya Chabria, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

    • Project Title: A New Look at Writing: Using Fractal Geometry to Evaluate Whether SLV Affects the Readability of Written Works

  • Victor Li, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

    • Project Title: Acoustic Analysis of Laser-Induced Graphene: Development of Quantitative Indicators for Direct Determination of Quality and Microstructure Morphology

  • Manav Bansal, The Wheatley School, Old WEstbury

    • Project Title: Metformin and Mannose Inhibit Human Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Proliferation: Implications for Anti-Fibrotic Therapies in Patients with MPI Deficiency and Chronic Liver Disease

  • Lucy Zha, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

    • Project Title: Investigating the Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin and Capsaicin: A Comparative Study on Neuroblastoma and Hypothalamic Cells

  • Zoya Unni, Paul D. Schreiber High School, Port Washington

    • Project Title: Shelter-in-Place, Connect Online: What Trending TikTok Content Reveals about Social Media use During the Early Days of the U.S. COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Aryan Ghotra, Syosset High School, Syosset

    • Project Title: Mathematical Models of Quaternary Body Equilibria

  • Isabella Souza, Syosset High School, Syosset

    • Project Title: Seeing Through the Scan: The Impact of fMRI Evidence on Juror Satisfaction and Verdicts

  • Maiya Raghu, Syosset High School, Syosset

    • Project Title: The Effect of Blue Light and Epigallocatechin Gallate on Oxidative Stress in Caenorhabaitis elegans

  • Eric Wang, Syosset High School, Syosset

    • Project Title: Investigation of Novel Anti-Cancer Effects of Oxymatrine and Deferoxamine on Neuroblastoma

  • Giselle Rasquinha, Syosset High School, Syosset

    • Project Title: Novel Strategies Targeting Entry and Membrane Fusion Steps in the Viral Life-Cycle to Enhance Potency and Stability of HIV-1 Inhibitors and Inactivators

  • Alex Breslav, George W. Hewlett High School, Hewlett

    • Project Title: Evaluating the Specificity of Novel Monoclonal Antibodies for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

  • Priva Halpert, Stella K Abraham High School, Hewlett

    • Project Title: Harnessing the Colorimetric Changes due to the Antenna Effect for Detection of Aliphatic Alcohols in 2-HP-BETA-Cyclodextrin Solutions

  • Alicia Hsu, George W. Hewlett High School, Hewlett

    • Project Title: The Challenging Nature of Maternal Empathy: An Investigation of Maternal Empathy and Its Relationship to Self-Esteem

  • Mia Wang, Great Neck South High School, Lake Success

    • Project Title: Assessing the Impacts of Social Determinants on Adult Obesity Rates in New York

  • Rithika Narayan, Elwood John Glenn High School, Elwood

    • Project Title: Machine Learning on Crowd-Sourced Data to Highlight Coral Disease

  • Christopher Alexander, Elmont Memorial High School, Elmont

    • Project Title: Avian Paramyxovirus Serotype 4 (APMV-4) Promotes Greater Rates of Apoptotic Cell Death & Stimulated Immune Responses in Malignant Melanoma and Relapse Cancers in Respect to Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV): The Characterization of a Novel Oncolytic Virus

  • Hope Lane, Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School, Port Washington

    • Project Title: Optimizing the Interconnectivity of the Liver Allocation Network to Minimize Death and Inequality Using LivSim

  • Noah Loewy, Paul D Schreiber High School, Port Washington

    • Project Title: Developing an Empirical Model to Forecast United States Presidential Elections: A Machine Learning Approach

  • Ashley Alcantara, Brentwood High School, Brentwood

    • Project Title: Farming Biodegradable Packaging Using Pleurotus ostreatus Mycelium

  • Tyler Ruvolo, Plainedge High School, Massapequa

    • Project Title: A Regression-Based Investigation Into Presidential Public Approval as a Factor of Political and Economic Policy

  • Julia Salatti, Kings Park High School, Kings Park

    • Project Title: Utilizing MR Imaging to Analyze Tumor Texture and Its Effects on Long Term Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme

This article originally appeared on the Long Island Patch